Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Thursday, March 20

Written by

Daniel Dobish

Published on March 20, 2025

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The National Hockey League has a total of 14 games on the schedule Thursday, catering to folks who clearly do not care about college hoops. Me, personally, I love all sports. Hockey is my favorite, and I returned to the ice Wednesday for the first time in two and a half weeks after suffering a sprained MCL. I love being on the ice, and I love hockey, but it doesn't keep me from appreciating all other sports, too. We'll take a look at three hockey games, putting together a couple of parlay possibilities to use for more NHL betting, or use during March Madness. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Thursday, March 20

For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.

Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Rangers

The Maple Leafs (41-24-3) and the Rangers (33-30-6) meet at Madison Square Garden in New York at 7 p.m. ET, with the game available for viewing or streaming on ESPN+.

The road team has won each of the first two meetings this season, with the Under coming in both times. That includes a 3-2 win by the Leafs at MSG in the most recent meeting Feb. 28, as Toronto hit as slight road favorites (-115) as the Under (6) cashed.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson kicked off the scoring with a power-play goal, while Mika Zibanejad evened the score. William Nylander gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead early in the second period for the only goal of that period. Will Cuylle had a shorthanded goal at 3:47 of the third period, while Matthew Knies gave the Leafs the lead for good at 6:21 of the third for the game-winning tally.

Anthony Stolarz allowed two goals on 35 shots to grab the win, and he is expected to start after Joseph Woll picked up a 2-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

The Rangers have been outscored 5-2 in the past two games, both losses, against the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. Let's back the Leafs to keep the road trend going, and go low on the total.

Maple Leafs ML (+105 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-120 at BetRivers Sportsbook)

Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Dallas Stars

The Lightning (39-23-5) and Stars (43-21-3) meet at American Airlines Center in Dallas at 8 p.m. ET.

Tampa Bay is coming off a 2-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday as heavy favorites (-300) as the Under (5.5) cashed. Andrei Vasilevskiy kicked aside all 21 shots he faced, while Nikita Kucherov had an unassisted even-strength goal at 18:31 of the first period which was the eventual game-winning tally. Jake Guentzel added a power-play empty-net goal to put a bow on the scoring.

Dallas picked up a 4-3 OTW against the Anaheim Ducks behind Jake Oettinger, as Mikael Granlund had a pair of goals, including the GWG in the extra session. Wyatt Johnston had a power-play goal, while Thomas Harley also added a goal.

The Under is 4-2-1 in the past seven meetings since Jan. 15, 2022. Tampa Bay has cashed low in three of the past five outings, and eight of the past 12. The Over-Under has split 3-3 in the past six for Dallas.

Let's back the Lightning, as they're a little bit hotter lately, and we'll side with the Under.

Lightning ML (+112 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-115 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Carolina Hurricanes at San Jose Sharks

The Hurricanes (41-22-4) and the Sharks (18-41-9) meet at SAP Center in San Jose at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Carolina is surprisingly mediocre on the road, going 14-15-3, but San Jose is just 10-21-2 at home this season.

The Canes have won six in a row in this series, outscoring the Sharks 21-11 in the span. The Under is 6-2 in the past eight meetings in the series since Dec. 5, 2019.

Carolina is playing very good hockey lately, winning seven in a row since March 2, while the Under is 6-1-1 in the past eight outings.

San Jose was blasted 5-1 at home Saturday as the total (6) pushed. The Sharks are 1-4-0 in the past five games.

Frederik Andersen (9-5-0, 2.15 GAA, .912 SV%, 1 SO) is expected to make the start for the visitors, while Georgi Romanov (0-0-0, 3.00 GAA, .818 SV%) is confirmed to start. It will be his first career NHL start. He has made three relief appearances over the past two seasons, posting a 1.81 GAA and .927 save percentage.

Look for Carolina to get it done on the puck line, and we'll lean low on the total.